Articles Archive
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From the Center: Spring 2007
I serve on Northern Woodlands’ Board of Directors, and the reason is quite simple. I fully embrace the mission of the organization: “To encourage a culture of forest stewardship in the Northeast by increasing understanding of and appreciation for the natural wonders, economic productivity and ecological integrity of the region’s forests.” To me, this means the forestland is for everyone,… (more)
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From the Center: Winter 2006
I’ve had an attraction to forests for a long time. It’s right there in my high school yearbook: “I will be studying forestry at ….” After college, I thought I would end up out West in the big woods. Funny then, that I could leave the Midwest, head east to the more settled and populated Northeast, and find “big woods.”… (more)
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From the Center
The forests of New England and northern New York are among the most diverse and intricate ecosystems on the planet. With mind-boggling numbers of plant and animal species living in complex natural communities, these woodlands are truly an environmental treasure of national significance. They are also part of equally complex economic and political systems with an astonishing diversity of human… (more)
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From the Center
Back in April, I attended the annual winter meeting of the New England Society of American Foresters (NESAF) in Nashua, New Hampshire. This was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old friends and colleagues and to absorb the latest information on forest management and the condition of the region’s forests and forest industries. The theme of this year’s meeting was… (more)
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From the Center: Spring 2006
In our 12 years of publishing, we’ve put together nearly 250 stories; in my admittedly biased opinion, all of those have been read by too few people. Within that lament we recognized an opportunity. Why not select the best on-the-ground stories, the ones that will help people take care of their land, and gather them into a landowner’s guide? (After… (more)
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From the Center
Recently I spent the afternoon in the woods with a long-time friend of mine, Charlie Moreno. Charlie and I graduated from forestry school a year apart and have since maintained our connection in shared ideas and philosophy about forestry, even though we sometimes have gone years between visits. We spent the time catching up this chilly fall day while we… (more)
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From the Center
Unfolding over the past year, we’ve experienced something at Northern Woodlands that serves as a symbol for everything that we’ve stood for since we began publishing this magazine 11 years ago.
It began when a member of our Board called to tell us of a family that owned 100 acres of woodlands in East Burke, Vermont; they wanted to donate… (more)
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From the Center
At a recent foresters’ conference, I was discussing with a friend a report we’d heard on the future of Maine’s forest products industry. He noted that, while the volume of wood harvested in Maine has remained fairly constant over the past few years, loggers are now covering twice as much ground as they once did to obtain the same amount… (more)
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From the Center
I was given two CDs for Christmas. The first, by Louis Armstrong, begins with his classic, “What a Wonderful World.” Hearing it makes me know what it means to experience tears of joy.
The second CD, by Lyle Lovett, includes the breathtaking song “This Old Porch.” It’s partly a lament for the loss of the old Texas, as he sings,… (more)
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From the Center
Owning and managing a piece of woodland is, among other things, an act of faith. Landowners sink their fortune in the notion that this place can provide sustenance, enjoyment, and a lasting legacy. Many factors that shape this adventure – weather, pests, taxes, and markets – are largely beyond the steward’s control, and the outcomes of land management actions are… (more)